Defending AUSL champion Utah Talons arrive in the Beehive State
Jun 8, 2026, 3:57 PM | Updated: 3:58 pm
Year 2 of the AUSL kicks of on Tuesday, June 9 with the defending champion Utah Talons hosting the Chicago Bandits at Dumke Family Softball Stadium.
SALT LAKE CITY –The Utah Talons are back in Salt Lake City, where the franchise will look to defend its 2025 Athletes Unlimited Softball League championship.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist, National Softball Hall of Famer, and UCLA associate head coach Lisa Fernandez spoke with reporters as the Talons’ general manager, bringing championship pedigree and star power to the club.
Fernandez was joined by Talons manager Cindy Ball-Malone, the 2022 AAC Coach of the Year at Central Florida.
“The first time I met most of the team was on Zoom,” Ball-Malone said. “I asked, ‘What’s the goal you want to achieve?’ They said, ‘Defending champs.’ We’re very excited to get started.”
View this post on Instagram
“This place was packed in year one, and I’m excited to see the fans show up again for us,” former Utah Ute and Talons infielder Hannah Flippen said. “I think we built great momentum last year, and I’d love to see even more of that this season—more fans in the stands and more engagement across the league.”
Fernandez said one of the most exciting parts of the league’s growth is the fan support building around every team. “It’s not just the 16 Talons,” she said. “It’s going to be the thousands of fans in the opposite dugout, too. I’m looking forward to it.”
Who are the Utah Talons?
Two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year Hannah Flippen is one of the most recognizable names on the roster after four standout seasons with the Utes.
Flippen graduated from Utah in 2017 and has since built an impressive professional and international career, including two World Games gold medals and a silver medal at the 2024 World Cup.
Flippen is joined by standout pitchers Montana Fouts and Megan Faraimo. Between them, the two combined for 201 wins during their college careers at Alabama and UCLA from 2019 to 2023.
Fouts threw four perfect games and five no-hitters with the Crimson Tide. Faraimo also recorded four perfect games and finished her UCLA career with a 1.44 ERA and 1,000 strikeouts.
“Coach Lisa did an amazing job of putting this team together,” Ball-Malone said of the roster. “Getting to know some of the new athletes and playing with them in game scenarios. We’re going to learn.”
View this post on Instagram
The defending champion Talons also added two selections from the 2026 UCLA Bruins in an effort to strengthen an already talented roster.
With the sixth pick in the first round, Utah selected power-hitting infielder Jordan Woolery. The 2023 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year started every game she played for UCLA after joining the program.
Six picks later, Fernandez returned to UCLA to select right-handed pitcher Taylor Tinsley.
She earned NFCA First-Team All-West Region honors twice (2024, 2025) and was named an All-American as a senior.
Tinsley joins Fouts and Faraimo to form a three-headed monster pitching staff, a backbone of the 2025 title-winning team.
What is the Athletes Unlimited Softball League?
Announced in 2024, the AUSL is a professional women’s softball league backed by Major League Baseball.
The league’s inaugural 2025 season operated as a travel format, with teams playing in multiple cities across the country.
Utah’s Talons capped that first season by beating the Chicago Bandits to claim the first championship in league history.
Utah is one of six teams in the league, alongside the Carolina Blaze, Chicago Bandits, Portland Cascade, Oklahoma City Spark, and Texas Volts.
Follow the AUSL & Utah Talons with KSL Sports
The Talons open the 2026 season at Dumke Family Softball Stadium on Tuesday, June 9. Utah hosts the Chicago Bandits in a rematch of the 2025 AUSL championship series.
Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
